Category Archives: Publishing

THE most often asked question by writers and would-be self-publishers in Google searches: “How to publish a book”. This prompts to show up 348 Million answers – many from Vanity Publishers, who lay out their traps… but also some useful tips. However not every advice is suitable for every book and every author. Only the manuscript, the authors goals, their marketing knowledge (often zero) and the potential readership for the upcoming book is known, publishing advice can be customized – not one size fits all.

.Over the Phone / Skype Consultation
It’s a budget-friendly way to get started with your publishing process, building your platform and marketing your book(s). Consider discussing your book with an experienced (30+ years) publishing and book marketing professional, in a personalized conversation. This valuable, yet very inexpensive package includes a meeting of up to 3 hours – or two meetings of 1,5 hours via phone in North America or Skype (worldwide).A very affordable fee of only $79 allows every author to get professional advice and help. Order secure and conveniently via PayPal.

.Great Benefit for You:

Are you thinking about publishing your own book?

Do you have a book you think will sell but don’t know how to market it?

Do you want to start seriously publishing in POD (Print-on-Demand)?

Do you want to learn all the in-and-outs of navigating Social Media?

Do you want to avoid costly mistakes and time-consuming “trial and errors”?

Do you want to do it right from the beginning, publishing in a professional way?

.How it Works:
As better you are prepared as more you will get out of our “meeting”. Write down all your questions you might have in regards of publishing and book marketing. Prior to our conversation, you’ll fill out a comprehensive questionnaire, designed to familiarize us with your opportunities and audience. We will buy and read your e-book or go through parts of your manuscript if it is a print book only and study / evaluate the questionnaire, once it is filled out and returned to us.
After the consultation session you will get an analysis of your book or your concept.

.Practical, Results-Driven StepsYour consultation will focus on your most effective strategies for your book marketing and will help you prioritize practical, results-driven steps to best promote you and your book. If you haven’t published before we will help you to become familiar with all the possibilities available and their pro’s and con’s, so that you can make an informed decision.

.Topics We Will Discuss
We will provide a comprehensive introduction to book marketing as well as more targeted feedback on specific concerns and questions, including but not limited to:

Where to get an ISBN, find editors, e-book formatters, lay-outers, cover artists

Selling through Amazon and other online retailers

How to get book reviews – before and after your book launch

Book Distribution and direct book sales

Public Relation and media campaigns

Possibilities of translations or foreign right sales

Getting bookstores and libraries to carry your book – worldwide

How to avoid traps at “self publishing” and “vanity publishers”

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After your consultation, we’ll send you a follow-up guide with hundreds of tips and links as a guide for your future publishing and book marketing activities. This way you don’t have to get distracted by taking notes while we are talking, and you will always have a “blue print” for future book publishing.

.Our publishing and book marketing consultation and coaching is appropriate for and can be tailored to writers who are going the traditionally or the self-publishing route. A very affordable fee of only $79 allows every author to get professional advice and help.
To get started go to http://www.111publishing.com/consultation-via-phone-or-skype/

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Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,120 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article for easy sharing at Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
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.A Joke? Statistics about the numbers of e-Books versus print books – taken from companies that sell only print books? Yes, that’s right – or have you ever purchased an e-book at WalMart, Costco, Sam’s Club, Target or K-Mart? How can statistics be true if one (large) part of the measurement is not taken?

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Flawed Survey, Sloppy Research, No Fact-Checking…“Print Books Still Outselling e-Books” or “Print Books Outsold Ebooks In First Half Of 2014” are the big headlines these days at newspapers and magazines, from PublishersWeekly to GoodeReader and Huffington Post.“According to Nielsen’s survey, e-books constituted only 23 percent of unit sales for the first six months of the year, while hardcovers made up 25 percent and paperback 42 percent of sales.”

.What’s NOT Included in these Articles:

The fact that NielsenScan covers a maximum of 75% of the US and UK book market

NielsenScan does NOT count e-books at all! How can they compare print vs e-books?

From which book retailers and which publishers – trade and / or independent publishers?

Does it include used book sales or only new books? Just launched books or back lists? Book retailers usually stock only new books…

In which countries are these stats taken – probably it means just the USA. But after all we are on the world-wide web, right? And in countries who are avid e-book readers, the picture looks completely different, e.g. the Netherlands, who has more e-book readers than the UK, or Germany.

According to Nielsen: “Library, professional, corporate, premium, export, and some specialty retail sales are not included in the BookScan physical panel.

NielsenScan does NOT report any Print-on-Demand books including CreateSpace!

Amazon reminds authors:“Note about Amazon print sales: Sales reported depends on which retailers selling your book and participate in Nielsen BookScan, and whether your book is registered with one of the companies from which Nielsen derives its list of reported ASINs. If your book is registered with the Ingram Company, for example, you will see sales info. If your book is Print on Demand, your publishing company may not report ISBNs to Ingram and you may not see sales information. If a disproportionate number of your books are sold by stores that do not report to Nielsen, your sales information may underestimate your total sales.”
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.These are the Facts:

Millions of independent published books, Print-on-Demand books and e-books as well as retailers are NOT included at all in Nielsen’s statistics

How wrong Nielsen’s numbers are, can be found in several articles, one of these on Forbes, where authors proofed their royalty statements, that have completely different book sales numbers.

NielsenScan covers only major book chains and mass markets, such as WalMart, Costco, Sam’s, Target or K-Mart in the United States and Great Britain. Presently they try to target the Australian market.

Amazon cautions: Most Amazon print sales are included in the sales figures; however, Kindle or other e-Book sales are NOT included because those figures are NOT reported by Nielsen BookScan.

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A Harvard University Article Explains:
“Prior to BookScan, the only source for market data for some individual titles were Best Seller lists, compiled by publications such as the New York Times that survey selections of book stores from which they generate estimates of rankings. However, these published lists don’t indicate how many copies of a book have sold or the relative sales among books on the lists.”
“Since 2009, BookScan does supply weekly “book charts” to the Wall Street Journal, but they are just best seller lists. The bottom line is, only book publishers have comprehensive sales data, and they don’t usually make it public. Strange as it may seem, we know of no reliable, publicly-available way to get comprehensive statistics for book sales at this time. Nielsen BookScan, which reports point-of-sale data, but even that claims to represent only 75% of all retail sales!”
“If you are looking for current sales figures, you can use Amazon.com to get a general idea, although it relies on very recent numbers, so the figures are not really accurate. The “Author Central” feature on Amazon.com does provide BookScan data to current authors only.”

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How Bestsellers Are “Made” by NielsenScan“Bestseller doesn’t necessarly mean it is a terrific book, worth to read. It rather shows a 2-3 week old sales statistic of books that sold well in chain bookstores and at independent booksellers, who are connected in a certain country (e.g. USA or UK) to Nielsen BookScan which currently covers approximately 75% of retail sales.”

.To Compare e-Book Sales with Print SalesPaper books and e-books will co-exist peacefully. Most book lovers read their favoured titles not only in print, but as well in e-book format. A comparison of e-book sales with print sales will NEVER show the real numbers! Good only for a catchy headline, but it lacks the journalistic facts: who, when, where, what, why and how.
If Nielsen wants to deliver serious stats, they would have to be done world-wide, at all book retail outlets and all publishers – small, big, trade or independent. So, if someone is stating statistics they need to be explained: from which country and which retailers those “statistics” are rendered and that they not show the real picture – especially when they are taken from retailers who DO NOT sell e-books at all. It’s like comparing apples and pears, don’t take them seriously!

.BookBoon Offers Everyone to Participate in a Survey:“In June 2014 we started a new eBook survey to get an idea of the latest trends. Please help us by answering our 11 questions (takes maximum 2 minutes). At the end of the survey you can see the preliminary results. Click here to start the survey.”

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

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Do you want more readers for your books and articles? There is a cornucopia of free and effective promotion tools for writers on the Internet. You can achieve these marketing goals through online activities in a fun way, as most writers already like to hang out in cyberspace, networking and blogging.

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1. Join Book Communities
As an author it is a MUST to be a member of these communities and a free (other than your time) way to introduce your book(s) and show your book titles. Join Goodreads, Wattpad, Scribd, BookMoch or Shelfari. More on my blog about book communities and for direct links. Post snippets (or chapters) of your book to excite potential readers at Wattpad – see my blog about Wattpad: 15 million readers before the book was even published.
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2. Use Your Signature
Never send out an email without your author’s signature. You have probably heard this advice before, but: do you use the gains of e-mail signatures to market and promote your books?
Every day you send out emails to friends, business colleagues, your lawyer or accountant, potential clients, potential readers … If you have an email signature, you are constantly sending people “passive” marketing, spreading the word about you, your brand and your books. Create your email signature right now!
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3. Involve Social Networks
Show up on Google+, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Facebook and Linkedin (be at least on Google+ and one more of these networking sites). Click on “public” when posting on Google+ and your content will be immediately picked up by Google’s search engines. If you share interesting links (and your blog posts), and offer great free information, you will quickly become a favorite in these social networks. Your followers and connections on Social Media will later become your fan base, read and subscribe to your blog posts and newsletters and read / buy your books.
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4. Comment on Other Blogs
Take the time to find bloggers who write about topics similar to those you write about. When they have something good to say or you can add something to what they have written, leave a comment on their blog. Each time you do so, you leave behind a link to yourself, your website, or your blog. If people who read your comment find what you have written interesting, they will click on the link to find out more about you. They may then decide to become regular blog readers or subscribers, newsletter subscribers, or book buyers.
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5. Start and Maintain a Blog Yourself
Blogs serve as the best tool for increasing online visibility as these are constantly updated and thus attractive for search engines. The more visible you, your book, your website, and your blog become, the more traffic (readers) your blog will attract. This means more buyers for your book now or when it is released. To create a successful blog, write about something you feel passionate about and do so often and consistently. That’s all it takes.
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6. Contribute Content to e-Zine Article Directories
Recycle parts of your blogged book manuscript or blog posts into short articles you can post in content farms or e-zine article directories, such as Ezinearticles.com, Amazines.com, or Blogs of the Week and many more. Almost all have a resource box for a short bio and a link back to your website, book, blog, or subscription form. These articles are picked up by other bloggers, newsletter editors, e-zine editors, etc., and each time your resource box is featured. Readers click on your links to find out more about you, subscribe to your blog and newsletter or purchase your book. You can even use an e-zine article distribution services, such as http://www.submityourarticle.com, and get your articles distributed to hundreds of e-zine directories at once, making it available to hundred- thousands of new readers and possible book fans.
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7. Optimize your Amazon Page
The first step of all you can do to climb up to bestseller status:

– “autograph” Kindle books
– choose the best categories for your books and update them regularely
– add tags/keywords/subjects to your book listing for more exposure
– add lots of reviews, “About the Author” and additional information to your Amazon sales page
– get the most out of your Amazon Central account, create a brilliant authors page
– find out which part of your books your customers highlight the most on the Kindle and post it on your website or blog.
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No Money? No Problem!Success in social media book marketing, using the tools described here, doesn’t require any financial investment. Depending on your level of involvement, it may demand a strong time commitment, at least in the beginning. Yet, as more you use these marketing tools, as faster you can handle them and as more visitors and buyers you will get.

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following our list of Social Networks:

Aaron Shepard Wrote a Blog: The Party is Over.“Amazon has been touted as fostering a thriving culture of self publishing with its level playing field for online sales and its promotion of new reading and publishing technologies, particularly the Kindle. Well, much of that is valid. Amazon has made self publishing more and more accessible to writers and for many years supported a good number of them with sales. But with the Kindle, Amazon has also commercialized books to the point that fewer and fewer self publishers can make a living from them.”
“Print-on-Demand (POD) books provided a handsome profit margin even at reasonable prices. But Kindle books, with their lower prices, have decimated POD sales. Meanwhile, Kindle customers expect more and more for the low prices they pay. Many feel cheated if they spend 99 cents or even less on a book that isn’t “full-length.” And the flood of easily-published books makes it harder and harder for individual ones to stand out—a problem that can only worsen with time.” Read more on his website.

.A Numbers Game
Nothing fundamental about the process or the business has changed. It’s purely a numbers game. More and more people are attempting to make a living from self-publishing, and that increases the amount of poor products that will never sell well. Fewer people making a living at it, in comparison to the total number of people attempting it. A relatively fixed amount of consumer dollars is being spread over a continually increasing number of books.

.Make a Back List of Books First, then Profit!
Too many books and articles with sensational articles have touted the fast, easy money-making opportunity with books / e-books. Sure, it is easy to put your self published work out there – although the process to reach that point and to promote it is hard work – but there is only a finite amount of readers. The best way into a writing career is to build up a back list of books first before seeing enough profits to make a living. Every book (and also every article / blog / guest blog a writer releases, will increase their return and boosts their portfolio exposure.

.Compare Publishing with a Marriage
You can see it also philosophically: Writing is like a marriage. If you want to get into it solely for the potential monetary payoff, you will probably fail. But if you get into it with your eyes open, and with reasonable expectations, you will probably get a payoff in personal satisfaction. And in regards of publishing, you might even make some decent money along the way.

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What’s a Writer to Do?
It feels like every other boom we have seen in tech: The Get-Rich-Quicker’s show up, make a lot of noise, get discouraged and declare the party over. One needs to see the reality: There is no successful business that doesn’t constantly create new products – books. And there is no success if no one knows of your products – books. Can you imagine Apple still selling their PowerBooks, and has not invented iPods, iPads or iPhones? And has not created fantastic public launches, nor established their Apple Stores? The company would be already bankrupt, and their party would be over…

The proportion of people who write well – and who are professionally self-publishing and marketing their books well in order to succeed – probably hasn’t changed. Many authors think, writing a book is enough “if you write it, people will buy it”. But that’s not how it works… Compare it with a retail business: Setting up a shop with only one single product and don’t market this product will not even bring a handfull of customers. Everyone would agree that this is silly. But some authors do the same in their publishing “business”. It is a long road for author-publishers from having no readers at all, being on ground zero, to start a small base and grow it to a large readership. It takes lots of time and effort to connect with a sufficient reader bases in order to make a living. And it cannot be based on Social Media only, an author’s writing should show up at blogs, guest posts, at newspapers, magazines, through book signings, readings, radio and TV interviews and maybe even speeches. Not to mention lots of reviews from reputable places.

.No Reason for Arrogance
I have heard it too often: “I like writing, but hate to go out in the public and market my book”. “I can post on Social Media, but I am a shy writer, or I am not going to do any book signings”. Compare it with a party guest who doesn’t talk with others, who doesn’t try the delicious buffet or doesn’t listen to music or dance … these is the equivalent to authors who go to the big “publishing party”, without really participating, not being interested to talk with other guests, expecting the whole audience accommodates them (and is buying their books).

.Conclusion:The party is NOT over at all, it just has gotten more guests. To compete with millions of other writers means for writers to create lots of new books and to market them professionally. If not trained in book marketing – and I am not talking about just having a presence on Facebook or Twitter – then get professional help long BEFORE the book launch (even better before you write it) in order to have a smooth and successful publishing experience and to establish a great author platform. And for the writing part: there are hundreds of websites with writing tips, critique groups and even more writing teachers and classes out there. And even from editors one can learn a lot.Yes, new authors will likely find it necessary to work harder than ever before. This isn’t the industry for people who expect a quick profit, or who think their single novel is going to make them rich or they can make a living from the first book on.

If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

Just hours after I wrote about an upcoming rental service it is now officially announced by Amazon…Amazon is offering an e-book rental service: “Kindle Unlimited”. The “all-you-can-read” book service will cost $9.99 per month. Amazon’s big advantage here: they are offering nearly 8,000 titles in Audio-book format and over 600,000 book titles. The current Kindle Owner’s Lending Library has a one-book-per-month cap, so this could be an option for Prime users who want more access.

Lots of Competition Already
Amazon certainly enters a crowded field and will have to compete with Scribd and Oyster. Scribd, which launched a book subscription service last October, charges $8.99 for access to best-sellers, classic books and new releases from bigger trade publishers. They have 80 million users and offer works from 900 publishers. They allow users to contribute works.Oyster boasts access for $9.95 to more than 500,000 books, but the majority of those titles come from self-publishing service companies, such as Smashwords.

.How Much will Authors Receive?Amazon’s official announcement for writers/publishers: “KDP authors and publishers who enroll their books with U.S. rights in KDP Select are automatically enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. Inclusion in Kindle Unlimited can help drive discovery of your book, and when your book is accessed and read past 10% you will earn a share of the KDP Select global fund. For the month of July we have added $800,000 to the KDP Select global fund bringing the total to $2 million.

KDP Select is an optional program that makes your book exclusive to Kindle and eligible for the following benefits:

Reach more readers – With each 90-day enrollment period, your book will appear in Kindle Unlimited in the U.S. and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL) in the U.S, U.K., Germany, France, and Japan which can help readers discover your book.

Earn more money – When your book is selected and read past 10% from Kindle Unlimited or borrowed from KOLL, you’ll earn your share of the monthly KDP Select Global Fund. You can also earn a 70% royalty for sales to customers in Japan, Brazil, India, and Mexico.

Maximize your sales potential – Choose from two promotional tools including: Kindle Countdown Deals, time-bound promotional discounts for your book, available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, while earning royalties; or Free Book Promotion, where readers can get your book free for a limited time.

Gigaom.com explains: “If you’re a self-published author participating in KDP Select, however, it looks as if your book can be included without your explicit permission simply under the terms and conditions you already agreed to: According to one poster on the Kindle Boards, “Books in Select will automatically be enrolled. Like the KOLL you won’t be able to opt-out if you’re in Select. You will be payed [sic] if you someone reads 10% or more of your book. The payment will come out of the same KOLL fund, just as if it was a borrow.” That “same KOLL fund” is a set pool of money from which self-published authors are paid each time their book is borrowed.”

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Author-publishers have an advantage: Amazon doesn’t have any books from the so-called “Big Five” publishers: Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Hatchette. Some of these big houses have agreements with Oyster, as well as Scribd, and are likely not cooperating with Amazon’s new service. Read also Joe Wikerts‘ commenting blog post on this.Amazon seems to become the 21st century’s digital library. “Kindle Unlimited” could completely change the market. Why purchase individual e-Books or bulky physical copies when you can read hundreds of thousands of books for just $9.99?

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Also Available: “Kindle FreeTime Unlimited” for Children
Amazon already offers a and-curated subscription of kid-safe apps, books and videos. They explain on their website:
“Kindle ‘FreeTime Unlimited’ is the first-ever all-in-one subscription that brings together all the types of content that kids and parents love – books, games, educational apps, movies and TV shows. With unlimited access to thousands of hand-picked titles for kids ages 3-8, parents don’t have to spend time (and money) guessing what their kids will enjoy, and kids can explore a world of age-appropriate content on their own – NO ads, NO in-app purchases.”
“Kindle FreeTime Unlimited gives kids the freedom to choose from thousands of the most popular books, games, apps, and shows for hours of fun and learning. Unlimited access starts at just $4.99 per month, with special pricing for Amazon Prime members from $2.99 per month.”

Screen Limits
“Many parents choose to limit their child’s screen time, but doing so without the proper tools is difficult. With Kindle FreeTime, parents can set daily limits, or restrict certain categories – like games and video – while leaving unlimited time for reading. In Kindle “FreeTime” mode, web browsing and purchasing content are also disabled.”

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After 5 Months of KindleUnlimited
Many authors are a bit sceptical if it is worth staying with KU. An excerpt from an article by Nate Hoffelder at The Digital Reader: Author Discontent Grows As Kindle Unlimited Enters Its Fifth Month“I took the plunge and went all-in to KDPS again. Lends almost made up the difference and KU honestly revived my older lower selling series. However, I am still down overall from pre-KU levels. As soon as my KDPS terms are up, I’m back out, baby. I may keep my older series and my 99c shorter works in KDPS for the exposure and because even $1.33 is better than $0.3465, but I’m taking my longer better-selling and higher priced books out.”So it seems that KindleUnlimited is worthwhile for lower priced books, while higher priced are better of without.
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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,140 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

Authors often do very little research to really understand who their potential audience is – or could be. Asking them: “Who is your audience and who is your competition?” one might receive only vague answers … However, these are essential questions that are not only very important for self-publishers, but also for authors who want to go with a traditional publisher! They need to proof to the agent or the publisher that they have done their homework.
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How Can You Research Your Competition?
First of all make a long list with possible keywords that readers might use to find a similar book.
Check out the complete categories / genres at Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Kobo, Apple, Google Books, Waterstones etc. and study all the books, that could be akin to your future work. Visit several public libraries to learn about your competition. Borrow the most interesting ones, not only to read them, but also to study the book layout and design. Read the online reviews of their books carefully!

How many books of this topic / with the same keywords have been published already?

Where are these books sold and for which price?

In which format are they offered: e-book, print, audio-book?

Who are the customers of these competing books?

How are these books received and which ones are bestselling?

Which categories did they choose, and which keywords?

In which categories / genres are these competitive books listed?

What cover designs have been chosen for these books?

Which author represent him/herself and their book the best – via their Amazon and Goodreads author page, and on their website or blog?.
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Don’t Give Up!Bestseller authors often need years and years to build up their audience, so it is surprising, that authors dream of their first book as a potential bestseller, and don’t realize that it takes a long time and hard work to get an audience, one reader at a time – especially if they did not do the ground work to build a huge following at Social Media, in reader forums or in real-life before they start publishing.

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Author-Publishing is Like a Completely New Profession
And professions need to be learned! It takes years to become an excellent writer and it also takes years to become an excellent publisher. It involves lots of skills and knowledge business-wise, marketing skills, not to mention, learning constantly new internet techniques and get to know the latest changes in publishing. Many authors have unrealistic expectations when it comes to the time required for effective book promotion and to make meaningful connections with readers. They expect wonders from a single sales campaign.
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Take Advantage of their KnowledgeA book marketing professional has to learn years and years. Why, as an author, not take advantage of their knowledge to keep your head free for writing and interacting with your readers? No one would start an accounting business without learning the ropes, and knowing how to create a revenue / expenses sheet or fill out income tax forms. Writing a book does not make for a publisher, no matter how clever businesses want you to imagine. Take the time to build your author platform and establish a brand, it will eventually give you an advantage in the market.

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars

Please check out all previous posts of this blog (there are more than 1,100 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.
Thanks a lot for following:

REMEMBER: You never get a second chance for a first good impression! Your books’ title and its appearance is the first, and perhaps only impression you make on a prospective reader. A great image on your book cover will undoubtedly catch your reader’s imagination, wondering what lies beyond it. A fantastic opportunity to draw readers in..

Not that an appealing cover means automatically a great book, but a book that is accurately and even interestingly represented by its cover, is more likely to catch the eye of someone who is going to enjoy reading it. Interesting covers are going to get more time on shelf-displays, online and off-line. We are a visual culture; naturally that is going to influence our book-buying habits.A stunning book cover is one of the best marketing tools for any writer!
.Bali Rai wrote in one of his blogs: ”In 2002, as one of the judges on the Guardian’s Teenage prize, I remember a book called Thursday’s Child by Sonya Hartnett. It’s a simple yet wonderful story of 1930′s Depression-era Australia, and it went on to win the award. However, it was not my choice for winner, simply because I thought the cover illustration would deter people from reading it. It was drab and old-fashioned in my opinion and had I not been reading and judging the book, it would have put me off completely.”
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Use light on dark for dramatic effects (if it fits to your book content)

Test the cover in thumbnail size to make sure it looks good at Amazon’s website

Use not more than different two fonts in total

Use not too wide vertical spaces between lines of text

Use few shadow, bevel, gradient or glow – keep it subtle

Align the cover text – centre, left or right

Place text on plain background to stand out

Use the same fonts for all your books and readers will be able to identify them easily

People read left to right, top to bottom. Position your elements in appropriate levels of importance.

Never, ever, use a white background for your book! White on white is barely visible and on websites your book will not stick out, as the sites’ background are almost always white.

.E-books are bought online, usually displayed on a page with many other books. Therefore clarity, simplicity, brightness and information must jump off the screen. A simple and arresting graphic element and bold clear text for the title and the authors’ name must be easy to read on the tiny online image.
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A book that is brilliantly written, but lacks a good quality cover design will remain unnoticed and undiscovered. It is absolutely crucial to have a book cover that grabs the attention of readers and book buyers and shows the heart and the soul of the book in one single image

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